Science and faith are not often seen as compatible, but professors at Azusa Pacific University believe that there is a clear connection between the two, and they want to share that with their students. Jennifer Young, PhD, associate professor of chemistry and chair of the Department of Biology and Chemistry, connects with students academically and personally to show them how they can live out their callings in school and after graduation.
Young’s passion for chemistry began in her junior year of high school. She had always wanted to be a teacher, but her chemistry teacher suggested that she study chemistry in college. “To major in chemistry, I felt like I had to completely understand the material at the start,” she said. “My teacher reminded me that I loved the subject and did understand it well.” With her teacher’s encouragement, Young studied chemistry at Grove City College, a Christian liberal arts university, before pursuing her PhD in inorganic chemistry at Texas A&M University. She met her husband in grad school, and moved to California after he was offered a job in Pasadena.
Growing up, Young didn’t know what grade she wanted to teach, but becoming a teacher
had always been her plan. In college, she decided to become a college professor to
give back to students the way her professors had supported her. She began teaching
at APU in 2014. “I never questioned the connection between science and faith because
it just felt natural to me,” Young said.
Throughout her teaching career, Young has found herself interested in how chemistry can play an important role in social and environmental justice. Every year, she leads her students in an assignment based on the Flint water crisis to look at how lower socioeconomic individuals are impacted by city decisions pertaining to science and health. “I want to help my students think about how what they create in research labs impacts the environment, plants, and animal life,” she said. “We can use chemistry to do good, so we need to take a holistic approach because science is a holistic study, not just one discipline.”
Young enjoys working with students in the classroom which has given her the opportunity to positively pour into her students the way her professors did for her. Her position as chair of the department has given her additional opportunities to engage with students outside of the classroom as well. While some students come into college knowing what they’re interested in and what their career goals are, others look to their professors and chairs for guidance and encouragement. For example, many students see a direct connection of science with a career in the medical field, but Young said that her role as professor and chair also allows her to show students that their interest in science, particularly chemistry, can be applied to various scientific fields and careers. “I tell students that college is a great time to find an interest and that it is ok to change their minds,” she said. “Chemistry is not always an obvious choice for a major, so many students don’t realize they’re interested in it until they take general chemistry. This gives me the opportunity to talk with them about what a chemistry degree can mean for their futures after graduation.”
Even after her students graduate, Young keeps up to date with their accomplishments. “It’s exciting when we have students graduate and go on to do great things and see where they end up,” she said. “A number of them go on to become professors themselves. Students often come back and tell me how their time at APU and the classes they took here meant so much to them.” Young said that some of the best and most exciting moments in her life happened in her college years, so learning about where her students come from, why they chose their major, and how they came to APU allows her to walk alongside and encourage them at a special time in their lives. “I love what I do, and I have great colleagues and students, so to do it all in a way that honors God is the cherry on top.”